New artwork: sensitive "Skin"
I don't know why I kept avoiding writing about this artwork. Too personal? How's that possible for a woman painting a collage portrait of a man?
I guess the subject matter is weighing on my mind.
Want to see the full piece? First person to RSVP yes to my solo show will receive a sneak peek image of the full piece before everyone else! Just in case you've never RSVP'd on Facebook before, here's what you do:
Slowpokes will have to wait until May to see "Skin" [wicked cackle].
I paired the above medical text with a painted-over image from my favorite Library of Congress collection...
... and assembled other elements, including the art paper I think of as "pinto pony hide."
But the layout didn't really say "hide" or "skin" to me until I added another bit of text: "... the color of skin resides in the superficial layers, hence beauty is skin deep."
Pony hide... skin. Skin... hey, don't I have some crocodile hide paper?
So then I gave my guy a suit -- a tattered one, to expose the croc skin -- and added claw marks on the background for good measure.
From that point, it finally felt like I'd convinced the work to give up some of its secrets. I think it's enough to call this collage "Skin."
- Go to the event on Facebook here
- Click the "Join" button
- Message me to tell me your email address, so I know where to send the image
Slowpokes will have to wait until May to see "Skin" [wicked cackle].
Thursday with LHPAI: More of the PAI
I used to think the obvious place for a public performing arts institution would be, you know...
... within a city's arts administration. Apparently it wasn't that obvious in the late 1960s, though.
Forty years ago, the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center was created as part of an urban renewal initiative in Seattle's Central District (a mostly black neighborhood at the time). It was considered a performing arts and community center -- emphasis on the second use.
So the LHPAC joined other community centers under the Parks and Recreation Department umbrella.
Gradually, the arts aspect of the institute's mission expanded: more emphasis on professional-level performances and training. With that came a need to renovate the building itself -- a major seismic and electrical renewal that closed it to the public for two years. The doors reopened in April 2012.
In the fall, the city moved the newly-renamed Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (LHPAI) to a new niche: the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.
The wonderful -- and often free -- programming focus on African Americans and the diaspora remains the same. But it's kind of cool to know more about its evolution. Settle in for a walk through the institute's history, courtesy of the Seattle Channel.
FTC disclosure: I'm partnering with the LHPAI on a series I call "Thursdays with LHPAI," generally published on Thursdays. I am being paid an honorarium for my work. However, all opinions and views expressed in this series are my own.
 |
| Original photo credit: Joe Mabel |
 |
| "Before They Die" film discussion. Credit: Purple Reels Productions |
The wonderful -- and often free -- programming focus on African Americans and the diaspora remains the same. But it's kind of cool to know more about its evolution. Settle in for a walk through the institute's history, courtesy of the Seattle Channel.
FTC disclosure: I'm partnering with the LHPAI on a series I call "Thursdays with LHPAI," generally published on Thursdays. I am being paid an honorarium for my work. However, all opinions and views expressed in this series are my own.
Introducing... the new Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
This is not the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. Not anymore.
It's the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute!
The new Institute -- LHPAI for short -- is now part of Seattle's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, and closely aligned to the office's mission "to keep artists living, working and growing in Seattle."
I think the Institute is a lot like other major attractions: the locals know it's there, but until someone from outside the neighborhood looks at it with new eyes, the attraction is sometimes overlooked.
And for a while it may have been easy to overlook -- a two-year seismic and electrical renovation closed its landmark building to the public completely.
Performances and programs continued at other locations, but it's always more fun to see a performance inside the institute that created it.
Now the institute houses a contemporary ballet company-in-residence -- Inception Dance...
... it hosts inclusive programs like the Out There Poetry Camp for gay teens...
... and most of all, African and diaspora-related performances year-round. Guess what you can sign up for this winter:
FTC disclosure: I'm partnering with the LHPAI on a series I call "Thursdays with LHPAI," generally published on Thursdays. I am being paid an honorarium for my work. However, all opinions and views expressed in this series are my own.
 |
| Building photo credits: Joe Mabel |
 |
| Credit: Andrew Ness Photography |
Now the institute houses a contemporary ballet company-in-residence -- Inception Dance...
 |
| Credit: Andrew Ness Photography |
- Winter Academy classes for teens and younger kids that teach acting, voice and other performing skills
- classes for adults in dance, African drumming, writing and other areas of interest
FTC disclosure: I'm partnering with the LHPAI on a series I call "Thursdays with LHPAI," generally published on Thursdays. I am being paid an honorarium for my work. However, all opinions and views expressed in this series are my own.